For most surfers, wax is an after thought … a last minute reminder that traction is necessary as their feet hit the sand on the beach. This is why you often hear surfers on the beach bumming wax from other surfers (that’s borrowing to squares). Some surfers actually don’t remember the need for wax until they have paddled up to the  line-up — “Hey, howzit, you got any wax?” is a common holler you’ll hear at our surf breaks.  Like I said, an after thought.

Matt Mattoon of Matunas Co. Inc. is looking to place surf wax in the forefront of everyone’s minds with ecologically friendly watersports/surf wax. It is a product line aimed not at surfers alone, but everyone who realizes that the oceans are in dire need of help from the very people who play within its waters. With millions of people entering the oceans on a daily basis, it is quite easy to understand the tipping point at hand. The oceans are quickly being polluted by non-biodegradable wax as it rubs off typical watermen sports and activities such as surfing and body boarding.

The Product: Matunas wax is the only non-toxic, biodegradable, petroleum-free, eco-friendly surf wax. Made from local California-based ingredients without any synthetic chemicals, this increasingly popular surf wax boasts itself as farm-produced - a majority of Matunas products come from their California farm, in Santa Cruz. Believe it or not, beeswax, jasmine, clay, and tree sap are the main ingredients used in the surf wax that is derived from their farm. In addition, organic produce not used for consumption through local markets, like raspberries and strawberries, are used for the scents of the surf wax.

To top off the eco-friendly twist, Matunas does not use chemicals or additives in their wax. As it rubs off your surfboard, it returns to its natural state without harming the oceans and the creatures who call it home! Additionally, their surf wax labels are printed from 100% recycled paper, using soy ink for colors and print.

The Test: We at iJs have a long history with Matunas surf wax, since it was one of our first forays into reviewing a surf product. Matt Mattoon, founder and environmental chemist was very helpful in helping us understand some of the internet hoopla about his surf wax. He was quite informative at dispelling myths and rumors about Matunas surf wax, and even provided us with some serious phone time to interview him.

However, as nice as Matt was, we still  placed some serious research on this product – how could we resist the challenge? We even went as far as allowing the staffers to run the gamut of tests from longboard and shortboard use, warm water and cold water use, straight applications to base coat+top coat application … even newbie surfers and pro surfers got into the mix.

We tested Matunas wax in three places: (1) Bondi and Bronte Beaches, in Australia, (2) Honolulu Beaches in Hawaii, and just recently (3) San Juan del Sur beaches, in Nicaragua. We had some staffers doing surf travel, and we couldn’t resist! Armed with regular wax and Matunas eco wax, our staffers waxed one side of their boards with each product (regular on one side, and Matunas eco wax on the other) and went surfing in their respective areas.

Although we tested smell (the wahines love the fruity smell, not so much the guys!), the ease of application (just like any other way in consistency), and the cost (a few cents more than regular surf wax) … the main issue we wanted to test was the durability of the wax in actual surf use … primarily because much of the internet myth was that this wax rubs off easily during actual water use.

From our temperature durability tests, we found very quickly that using Matunas basecoat severely prolongs the life of each wax application! While cold water wax stayed on the board much like regular wax, we found that warm water wax benefited greatly from the use of basecoat.

As a secondary test at Lighthouse break, at the base of Diamond Head Honolulu, we waxed one side of a 6’6″ twin fin with Matunas basecoat+Matunas Tropical and the other side with straight Tropical application. Although the wax held up fairly well through the 2 hour surf session, the side without the basecoat seemed all but gone by the end. The “basecoat plus tropical” side stayed true to the standards we were familiar with surf wax.

To place this issue to further tests, we took Matunas tropical+basecoat to Colorados and Panga Drops, popular surf breaks near San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, where water temperatures average at 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius). Sorry to say, but even with the basecoat and tropical wax application, we found ourselves having to re-wax almost after every session … at times durinf mid-session on warmer days!

The Verdict: The bottom line is this product is out to ease the strain on mother nature and our oceans … so even in the painfully warm waters of Nicaragua, we didn’t mind reapplying another coat of wax. How could we even allow ourselves to use any other wax product that is NOT biodegradable at this point??? As environmentally concerned surfers, the slight inconvenience of having to wax a bit more often definitely outweighed the environmental impact of using any other surf wax that serves to pollute our waters! Surf on brothers and sisters!

A big Mahalo to Matt Mattoon at Matunas Co Inc. , and huge props for helping us surf smarter!

[article previously posted as "‘12 Days of Xmas’ #8: Matunas Eco Surf Wax"]